Important Office Policy! Very frequently we are asked questions such as: “The crown came back and it really didnt fit well. What should I tell the patient?” Or…..“My assistant doesnt use correct grammar when she speaks with our patients. What should I tell her?” Or….“The patient’s insurance didnt pay what we expected….” or many variations of the same question. The simple answer is……tell the truth! Sometimes we may be tempted to tell a little white lie or somehow weasel our way out of a situation. And when it comes to this kind of stuff, weve heard it all! But the simplest, best and easiest to follow policy in every situation is……tell the truth!! Of course, there is a right way and a wrong way to do this. Going on a rampage against the lab in an attempt to save face just makes everyone look bad. But saying something like…“The crown came back from the lab, and we are just not happy with the way it fits. We could spend some time trying to adjust it, but the best result would come from getting you numb again, shaping the tooth a tiny bit more, and doing a new impression. We really apologize for the inconvenience, but in the end this will give you the best and longest lasting result.” Big difference there, eh? Or instead of saying “I’m sorry Mrs. Luther – your insurance is just horrible!” (believe it or not, we once heard that during an in-office consult) – try something like… “The good news is that your insurance will contribute seventy-eight dollars to the fee for this procedure!” Again – same truth, different message. So while we are not fans of lots of strict policies, one that can never flex is……“Tell The Truth!!” Just make sure that you do it the right way!
Posted on: Tue, 03 Jun 2014 21:12:25 +0000